Fireflies Over The Mountain
by Kicchin
Summary: Humans are bound to feel pain in order to alarm them from potential harm, but what if you are cursed with the inability to feel pain? Akashi Seijuuro upon saving a lost brunette found himself falling for a human for the first time. But what if this very same existence is the very key to his salvation and destruction? Akafuri with tiny bits of kagakuro


Chapter 1: The Rainbow Village

In the mountains of Teiko, a God lives. He was once named after the small village in the feet of the mountains where colourful dyes were found. The humans called him— _Nijimura_ Shuuzo. The kind god was said to lead the lost villagers in the woods back into safety, the God would dress as a human and come to the aid of the villagers. People venerated him.

And on one snowy night where no green grass grew, and the thick winter licked and covered the mountains, a lone voice of a child echoed, helpless cries of an infant filled the silence of the mountains as if asking for the ones who left him to come back. The infant's tears continued loudly, waking every present living creature right then. A helpless tiny infant wrapped in a thin blanket left alone in the middle of the snowy mountain.

A saving grace in the form of young man in white clothes ran to the scene. The man's eyes which were the color of the cloudless summer sky stares sight of the infant whose cries had reduced into whimpers, lips turning gray, and tears had frozen in the side of his supple cheeks. Without thinking too much the white clad young man quickly took the infant in his arms, the human's tiny arms had gone incredibly cold, his breathe had become shallow and the beating of his heart is so slow that it could stop anytime.

"Is that a child?"

The white clad young man spun as he carefully wrap his arm around the infant in a protective manner, a mountain is still a mountain, it hides many dangerous thing for a helpless child. To his relief it was a Mountain God, his eyes curiously peers over the small figure in the other's hand.

"Yes." The young man said, "I am afraid his life is slowly ebbing away."

The Mountain God couldn't help but feel sorry for the teal haired _youkai_ , he always loved the humans especially children, despite his reputation as a fox-demon whose nature is said to be playful and mischievous towards humans.

"Kuroko, humans are that way." The Mountain God said as he walks towards the other taking the infant in his arms. He looks at the quiet and still infant, his small eyes were closed but the thin hair covering his soft head is red just like the color of the blood oranges. "They live an inconveniently short life, some don't even have the privilege to live that long, just like this boy."

Kuroko the fox-demon couldn't help but feel his heart go out for the tiny child, "But to die out here, in this lonely place alone does not suite such pure soul, must he die?"

"All who lives must die, all that begins must end." Nijimura Shuuzo whispered. "But indeed what a sad thing to do to a child."

"What shall we do?"

The Mountain God looks at the fox demon, "What do you intend to do to this human?"

"Perhaps find a resting place for him and his body."

The Mountain God smiles as he nodded, he looked down at the infant. He wondered what color would be his eyes if he were to open them, would be the same hue of his hair. He wondered what kind of sounds would he make when he laughs, what would be his first word, so many possibilities and yet it had ended today.

"What are you thinking?" Kuroko asked the Mountain God as his figure started glowing.

"Do you want this child to live?" Nijimura asked the fox demon before him. "After all you are the one who found him, I give you the burden to decide whether this infant shall live or not."

Without hesitation the fox-demon nods, "Yes."

Nijimura nods holding his right hand as it glows with the light of the life of the mountain. The fox-demon watches everything else seems to dim and bow to the glory of the light of the Mountain God.

"Prick your finger." The Mountain God said to the fox-demon.

The fox-demon raised his index finger to his lips and bit it letting his small fangs tear his skin and let the his blood pool there. The fox demon's blood drip down on the white blanket of snow beneath them tainting the pureness with his life.

"Write the word life in his forehead with your blood." Nijimura instructed.

The fox-demon nods and slowly wrote the character for _life_ in the infant's forehead. Without a word Nijimura raised his hand over the boy's head and the word life started glowing in the boy's forehead.

"All who lives must die, all that begins must end." Nijimura whispers to the child, "But with a fox-demon's blood I curse your time and so you may shall continue to live sharing a pint of a blood with a _youkai_ ,. But in return for this you are not allowed to feel pain, once you do this spell shall be broken."

As the fox-demon's blood disappears in the infant's forehead, it started moving, it's tiny hands started flexing his tiny fingers. Kuroko's eyes widen at the wonderful sight of life before him as it slowly blooms. It looks majestic like a lone vibrant red flower blooming amidst the thick blanket of snow. Kuroko's eyes lit as the infant's small lips quivered and slowly a soft cry erupted from them, it sounded more peaceful.

"You should name him."

Kuroko nodded as he took the infant from the Mountain God's arms into his, and slowly it's tiny eyes opened, for a moment they were a pair of vibrant red eyes until the infant blinks and one of the red pools changed into gold. The mark of the fox-demon.

"Seijuuro." Kuroko whispers, "Akashi Seijuuro."

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 _April 2016_

Furihata sat among his family, he watch his mother cry her eyes out in front of the picture of his grandfather. Furihata could remember him during the times when he is still stronger, back when he was young. His grandfather frequently visited him before when he was young, despite his old age he would go with Furihata in museums, playground, they would eat ice cream down the small park close to his school. He liked him very much and he missed him when he stopped coming to Tokyo.

Whenever he would ask his mother, she would simply say that he is slowly becoming too old for travel. But as time pass he realized his grandfather is getting frequently ill, sometimes he would wake up to his mother crying over the phone. His grandfather didn't have any other family aside from them, and when his father left them, he was there to aid his mother with raising him. When they had difficulty with finances, his grandfather sold some of his antiques just to be able to help them.

Tears silently fell down his eyes as he stares at his grandfather's photograph, he didn't told them and begged the hospital not to call them saying his daughter and grandson would be sad. And they were indeed. His mother broke down like a wall crumbling down brick by brick when they heard the news of his grandfather's passing. He wasn't able to do anything, Furihata was shaking, no words escaped his lips as he tried to understand everything in his mind.

Why must he die? Why does it have to be him?

Furihata's tears blurred his sight, his chest felt tight and everything didn't make sense.

Why must one die? He doesn't understand the mortality, the fragility of human life.

"I'm sorry for your lost."

The words that were said too much and yet not enough echoed in the small room. Even how many times people had given their sympathies it didn't seem to be enough to put a fill in the hole in his chest.

Furihata tried his best to pull his tears off his eyes as he try to put a reassuring hand over his mother's back. He wanted to be strong for her, but it hurts so much it was difficult to. During this time he wishes he could just not feel, during this time he just wants to be so numb.

.

.

.

When tears were already dry and the sobbing had died down, Furihata watches his mother as she cleans around. Her eyes were puffy and red, her small frame still shaking from her tears.

"I'm sorry."

Furihata found himself saying. His mother stops and raises her head, she looks surprised.

"For what honey?" His mother asks, "What are you sorry about?"

Furihata wanted to wrap his arms around her, he wants to say everything will be alright, but he is not really sure about that. He is not sure of anything at all. It was why he is sorry, because there is remotely nothing he could do to appease her heart, to make her feel any better.

His lips quiver unable to say his reason he is too much of a coward to even speak his mind.

"It's alright Kouki." His mother said as she walks towards him wrapping him in her strong and warm hold, "We will be alright."

Furihata sometimes wish he has her bravery.

.

.

.

After his grandfather's burial, everything went back to the same way they were. It was again he and his mother, not that Furihata could complain, but deep inside something in Furihata was stirred. A fear melted in his heart and coated it.

Time is ticking.

Humans are merely slaves of it. Even how careful, even how much he would want to, the fact that his mother will grow old someday will never change, when she does he would have to repeat the same process, to feel that piercing pain of lost that would make death a mercy. But death is no mercy. Death is death. If he is the one to die, his mother would feel the same, she would cry herself to sleep again, she would smile but she would be in great pain. And she would wish she died with him.

Just how much more time do they have with each other?

Just how much more before it is all taken away?

What would death feels like, is there really an afterlife?

Furihata wonders every single day since then, sometimes it would keep him up at night, sometimes he would feel his heart pounding loudly in his chest with the thought of it.

"How was the day?"

Furihata smiles back at his mother as she emerges from the kitchen wearing a pink apron. Since his grandfather's death his mother couldn't let the man's only remaining possession to be given away or left unattended. His mother sold their home in Tokyo and decided to stay there instead. Furihata didn't have any objections, he understood the value of his grandfather's memories to his mother, and besides it was only the first year of his high school. It is a good fresh start for the both of them.

"Great." Furihata answered simply, "My P.E. Teacher has these weird split eyebrows though, he looks mean but he's kinda cool guy."

"That sounds nice, and the rest?"

"My Algebra teacher calls everyone with a pet name, he's funny."

His mother laughs, "Oh what does he call you then?"

" _Kou-chan_."

His mother giggles even more, "I should have called you like that."

"Mom it sounds like a girl's name!"

Furihata is glad his mother is smiling and acting normally. To have such beautiful and strong heart, everyone would want that of course.

"Did you have any friends now?"

Furihata nods, "Yeah but most of them are upperclassmen."

"Oh?"

"One of them is Kiyoshi-san from the Basketball Club he's really tall and—"

Furihata continued talking about his day with his mother, he knows how much she loves hearing from him. Without that the silence of the house becomes unbearable. Like putting a fish in a jar and filling it with water to the brim before closing it with a lid, it was like suffocating in your own natural environment.

…

Two weeks more passed, people often quickly forget. When they rarely see something it ceases to exist in their mind, the presence that is a constant reminder of that person disappears too with their very image. Furihata himself had forgotten of that day he came crying helplessly, thinking of morbid thoughts. His eyes sparkled with a different glow as he speaks with his new friends. His chuckles barely showed the traces of the once pain he suffered from the passing of someone dear.

"I need to go ahead!" Kimura said waving his hand as walked backwards.

"Oi be careful!" Fukuda shouted back, "And where the hell are you going?"

"It's a secret!" Kimura replies before turning around and running to the other end of the street.

Furihata laughs at the two's antics, currently, he is closest to the two. The two were both in the basketball club where the tall red head teacher coaches. The man is intimidating when you look at him but when he speaks he's strangely a huge ball of awkwardness especially when someone calls him _sir_. Furihata figured their school's basketball coach is a first time teacher. The man has his way of persuading everyone into the basketball club which is how his two best friends ended up there.

Meanwhile, Furihata decided for something much more quieter—like the library.

"I bet he's going out with some girl again." Fukuda mutters.

"Eh, it's not very surprising, now, right?" Furihata answers.

Fukuda laughs before putting an arm around Furihata and pulling him close and whispering in his ear, "What about you, have you gotten any girls yet? Eyeing any chicks?"

Furihata sighs before pushing Fukuda's face away from him, "No."

"You're no fun!" Fukuda said sighing. "It's perfectly normal Furi!"

"I know."

"So?"

"Still, no."

"But—"

"I don't want to go."

"I haven't even finished what I was saying!"

"You're just going to ask me to join you with all these mixers."

Fukuda faked a frown, "Are you asexual?"

Furihata sighs again, "No, I'm just not _interested._ "

Fukada shrugs, "Whatever, man."

"Besides, normally girls would go with people who stands out—that is not me."

"You would never know!"

"I don't want to."

Fukuda shook his head as the reach the crossing.

"Okay, okay I admit defeat!" Fukuda says as he dramatically throws his arms in the air in defeat.

Furihata smiles at the other, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yep." Fukuda said as he waves at the other. "Good bye _loveless!"_

Furihata's eyebrow twitched at the nickname his best friend had bless him with. Fukuda turns around and starts to walk towards the opposite direction. Furihata watch him as his friend cross the street. It had become a strange habit of him of watching them and making sure they reach the the other side of the street before walking up. When Fukuda reached the other side of the street, the brunette started to walk on his own.

The asphalt is wet, Furihata thought to himself, perhaps it rained before he got out of his library duties and he didn't notice it. He had gotten used to the streets of his new town, it was a bit different from Tokyo, there were less noises and ruckus, especially at night, but it is not bad. There were more vacant lots and overgrown vegetation than in Tokyo, there were even random entries to the woods in the town that sometimes Furihata wonders if anyone ever gets lost in there.

 _Clink_

Furihata raised an eyebrow as he heard a faint sound. He blink in his reverie and for some reason everything seems dull except for that faint ringing sound. Then his eyes found itself watching a limping feline running towards—

"Huh?"

When Furihata was brought back to his senses he found himself standing in the side walk, the cat had run towards stone pathway towards God knows where leads. The brunette whipped his head towards where the poor cat had run to. Strange, he thought as the sight registers in his mind, he never paid much attention to that place until now. It is one of the entrances towards the woods, up to the mountains.

"Hey wait!" Furihata calls the cat as if it understood him, however instead of stopping the poor cat hastened it's movement and slipped into the lush of green.

A pang of guilt made the brunette's legs move on its own, despite his logical brain telling him to _not_ go because…well, because it's _the_ woods. Anything could happen in the woods, he doesn't even know how to get out of it.

Yeah.

How?

Furihata blinks as he stood in the middle of the woods, the stone pathway had disappeared before he knew it and the cat is nowhere to be seen anymore. The brunette sighs, he is still in his uniform and it will be sun down in a moment, God knows what kinds of human-eating creatures lurk there at night. He cursed his curiosity and everything else that drove him in his current predicament.

Furihata sighs as he continue walking, yes, walk, maybe that could help him find a way out of the woods, he thought. That is definitely better than crying in the middle of nowhere because he couldn't find his way out—though it is beginning to become a very tempting idea. The brunette reaches to his pocket to get his cellphone only to feel his despair multiply, it doesn't have a signal.

"Where in the face of the Earth am I?!" Furihata whines, his voice echoing in the vast space.

" _Meow."_

Furihata blinks. For some reason he couldn't resist that tiny noise of a helpless cat. It is probably lost too, he thought. The brunette quickly regained his energy and started running towards where the cat is.

After running and running towards where the tiny voice of the feline, Furihata found himself in a place he had never seen before. The trees were clear forming a small circle, there were no tall grass unlike the rest of the woods, instead it was just moss and small colourful flowers; green, dark and sky blue flowers, yellow, red and violet, decorating the space. In the middle of it all is a small but tall pillar standing straight in a cemented platform. The cat is sitting on top of the pillar looking down at the brunette and _meowing_.

"T-That's really…d-dangerous!" Furihata exclaimed.

The brunette without thinking run towards the platform, however as soon as his feet planted on the edge of the cement, it slipped due to the water that had dressed it from the rain. Furihata felt his heart stops, he quickly raised his arms to protect himself, he will either hit his head to the pillar, or to the platform of painfully, _both._

But it never came.

Furihata opened his eyes when he realized his movement stopped, he could feel a strong pull from the back of his _gakuran_. He blinks and realized a hand had pulled the back of his collar. With a swift movement he felt a strong pull him back on his feet—quite forcefully. The brunette fought to regain his balance back but failed miserably which made him fall to his bottom.

That was painful too, he thought to himself as he hisses in pain.

Before he could look up, the sun had already set masking the whole forest in darkness.

Furihata looks up, the red paper of the lamp made it look like the sun was encased in it. He couldn't help himself, he raised his head higher to see the face of the person who had just save him, but instead he was greeted with a strange white mask of a fox.

"Eh?!"

The brunette quickly scrambles away from the stranger in the white mask holding a paper lamp. Who on earth still uses paper lamps, and wearing a— _huh?_ Furihata stops taking in the image of person in front of him. The fireflies started lighting themselves up as they filled the darkness. The man—he guess—is wearing a white mask of a fox, and to top that he is wearing a scarlet kimono and a hakama that looked expensive with all the beautiful designs in them.

A human.

Definitely a human being, Furihata thought.

"What are you doing in this place?"

Furihata suppresses a gasp from his lips as he heard the other speak, his voice is strangely…appealing. It felt like an ice trailing down his skin.

"I-I…T-The cat!" Furihata quickly answers, he turns and points on top of the pillar. "I-It needs my help to—"

Before Furihata could even finish his words the cat skilfully and fluidly climbs down the pillar. Well, talk about awkward.

The cat walks quietly next to the stranger and purred against the hem of the person's kimono.

"Cats are agile creatures, they could land in their feet without harm despite the height." The man said, his voice slightly laced with amuse. "You followed him and tried to save him…from nothing?"

"I-It's not my fa—" Furihata hisses as he tries to stand, he felt a sting in his knee. The brunette wondered when he got it. It was probably when he tried to get away.

"You have a wound."

"Yes, I…think that's obvious." He mutters.

"I…I don't know how to treat you."

Furihata raised his head towards the stranger with surprise. Why does he make it sound as if he should have known? It is not his responsibility after all.

"I-I'm fine." Furihata said as he try to stand again, this time despite the stinging pain, he managed to. "I just need to get out of here, my mom would be worried."

"Your…mother. Of course." The other replied. "How about your wound, are you able to function with it?'

"F-Function? W-What? Of course, I'll be fine."

The other didn't move from his spot for a while before taking something inside his kimono. To Furihata's surprise it is a white handkerchief, the stranger walked towards the brunette, the other warlily steps back, obviously not comfortable with a masked man with a white handkerchief in hand approaching him.

Before Furihata could say anything the man went down in his knees and started tying the handkerchief neatly in his wounded knee. The white material was quickly stained with his blood.

"W-Wait I'm—"

"Are you alright now?"

Furihata couldn't help but to answer, he nods.

"I shall lead you out of here."

"Huh?"

The man without further ado went back to pick up his lamp, "Follow me, and do not get lost…again."

Furihata nodded meekly at the other's words. Without thinking much he followed the man. He wonders why he doesn't seem to feel any fear from being in the presence of stranger without a face, in the middle of nowhere, leading him towards God knows where. People will not usually trust people like this, normally people would run away…maybe he's really that much of an idiot, he thought dejectedly.

"If you let your mind wander, you'll find yourself lost as well."

Fuirhata blinked out of his thought, and found the other had stopped from walking as well.

"Come quickly, you don't want to die in the woods would you?"

"Eh?!" Furihata exclaimed loudly, "A-Are there monsters here?"

The other didn't answer, unfortunately it was too dark to notice the movement in the other's shoulder indicating an amuse laugh.

"Next time do not randomly follow animals."

"But it was wounded."

"You are now as well."

Furihata frowns at that.

"People who meddle with others always end up getting hurt as well."

"That's one cynical way of thinking _stranger-_ san."

"It is true."

"But you're helping me."

"Just because when the Gods created common sense you did not ask for it."

"That's ridiculously mean of you!"

This time another laugh escaped the other's lips, but it didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. For some reason it made Furihata smile. He wonders if this person purposely dresses up like this to lead lost people out of the woods. Is that also why no reported case of anyone actually getting lost in this woods? A good hearted Samaritan, he thought.

As the brunette continued following the other, he notices the strange color off the other's hair—is his eyes playing tricks on him or is it really…red. No not the red that their school's basketball coach had but even redder, like…like fresh blood.

"Wow."

Furihata found himself reaching to touch the strands, when the other man turns to him. Furihata's hands were mid-air and he found himself smiling awkwardly.

"Eh, uhm, t-they're just…really, amazing, sorry."

The other didn't say anything before turning around and continue their journey.

"You are just like a cat, your curiosity gets a better hold of you."

"I-It's unintentional, I swear."

The other sighs, "I'm sure that what cats would say if they were able to speak."

Furihata blushes in embarrassment at the other's remarks. He lowers his head shyly.

"But I guess it is the thing that makes them very interesting."

Furihata's eyes widen. Did this man just compliment him? The brunette found the blush in his cheeks turning a hundred degrees warmer. He decides to distract himself of other things, namely the fireflies, yes, that's right, the fireflies are nice, their soft yellow glow really is beautiful, yes, and they are indeed really breath taking.

"It's just like in fairy tales."

The stranger raises his hand and opens it letting one of the fireflies rest in it.

"They are oddly lot tonight." He whispers.

"Are there usually less?"

He nods.

"Is that a bad thing."

"Who knows." The other said before moving his hand and letting the bug fly away. He turns, and Furihata could only sense a smirk is hiding behind that mask, "Maybe the dead just wish to say hello to you."

"Stop joking about dead people!"

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.

.

Nonetheless, they reached the stone pathways. The stranger turns to Furihata gesturing towards the pathways.

"If you follow the stone pathways, it will lead you back to the town."

"How did you know all of these?"

"I just do."

Furihata stares at the man, "Do you live in this town?"

"Maybe."

"Why are you disguising yourself?"

"Maybe I'm not."

"Huh?"

The masked man reached towards Furihata and without a warning pushed him in the chest. The brunette quickly lost his balance and found himself falling down in his bottom again. He closed his eyes bracing himself for the impact.

When he opened his eyes, his was welcomed with…nothing. The stranger who just helped him is nowhere to be seen.

And thus…

It begun.


End file.
